How to Remove a Late Payment on a Student Loan

A portion of your credit score is calculated by how well you pay regularly scheduled payments. If you make a payment on any debt 30 days after the payment is due, you will receive a late payment notation on your credit report. Even one late payment can cause your credit score to drop. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that all information contained within consumer credit reports be accurate. If you notice a late payment notation for your student loan appearing on your credit report and you know you made your payment on time, you can take action to have the negative notation removed.

Instructions

1

Gather any documentation you have that proves your payment was made on time. This includes student loan bills identifying when the payment was due and any canceled checks or debit records documenting when the payment was withdrawn from your bank account.

2

Contact your student loan provider by telephone and explain the reporting error. Ask to be transferred to someone who can help rectify the situation and have the negative notation removed from your credit report. Customer service representatives will rarely be able to help you in this matter, and you should insist that you be transferred to a supervisor.

3

Explain to the individual you are transferred to that there is a late payment notation appearing on your credit report in error and you would like to have it removed. Tell the supervisor that you have documentation to prove that the payment was made and processed on time. Ask for the address of the department that handles reporting errors so you can mail your documentation.

4

Make copies of your banking documents and your credit report with the late payment notation highlighted. Also make a copy of your photo ID. Send these items with a letter detailing the problem to the mailing address provided to you by the supervisor. Also, send your documentation certified mail. This way, a representative will have to sign for your paperwork, and the signature card will be returned to you.

5

Give your student loan provider 30 days to respond. If a response is not received within that time frame, you may dispute the late payment notation with the credit bureaus.

6

Send each credit bureau currently reporting the late payment copies of all of your documentation and a letter outlining the steps you have taken to resolve the issue with the lender. Include a copy of the signature card proving that you notified the lender of the issue and received no response. By law, the credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate your dispute and make any necessary corrections.

7

Wait for a response from the credit bureaus. Within 30 days, you will receive notification of the results of the investigation and an updated copy of your credit report if any changes that were made resulted in a change to your credit score.